It's one of those incredible success stories we've all seen on TV. A story that captivates your attention and inspires your creativity. It is a story about individuals coming together as a team and making their small time idea become a big time reality. A story about the enormous struggle one endures when pursuing something both unfamiliar and unprecedented. This is the story behind, The Unknown.
Christopher Tranchina, Andrea Castro and Chelsea Marino, creators of the upcoming SAG short film The Unknown, are still amazed at how much they accomplished in such a short amount of time. It was only three months ago, this creative and supportive team considered one another as strangers.
The trio met doing background work on the set of "When in Rome". There were over eighty background actors on set that day. The designated "holding" area was a small stuffy basement in a recreation center located on the Lower East Side. Due to the lack of space, the background actors brought the chairs from the basement outside and created a new holding area in the middle of the sidewalk. Clear skies, open space, and plenty of room for the universes' energy to conspire. A conversation about monologues was enough for these three strangers to rearrange their chairs, pull out their laptops and start jotting down ideas for a screenplay. Little did they know, this would turn out to be bigger than what they expected. Weeks later, they had a finished screenplay, The Unknown.
"The Unknown" is a story that follows the life of Boston actor, LOU MONTE, as he struggles to make it through the crazy, amusing world of the entertainment industry. LOU MONTE, a 30 something year old, Boston actor who drives to NYC on a daily basis trying to "make it." It's a humorous journey into the gritty, true to life, reality of the continuing fight to believe in oneself against all odds.
"Most background actors that do background/extra work have hopes of moving their career forward with a speaking role, being a stand-in, or networking with the people you meet on set. But in reality, it's not as easy as it seems. That's what we want to show on this film. We want to show the reality of chasing a dream and the obstacles that you have to go through to get there…"
The ultimate lie is that the entertainment industry is filled with bright lights, flashy dresses and movie stars, when in reality the art of "making movies" is all about long hours, hard work, and a very patient cast and crew. The reality of the entertainment world, from "making movies" to going to auditions, to getting turned down, is precisely what these three actors wanted reveal to their audience. Three months ago, these three struggling actors brought their dreams and made it into something tangible, from paper to the big screen.
In 2 months time, they were able to get an executive producer on board who helped make this production become a solid reality. Anthony Guarino, a businessman who is extremely passionate about films took his time out and read the script. He found enough merit within the 29 pages to take on this film. He has been an invaluable guide throughout this process.
"Without Anthony's 100% faith and commitment in this project, we would be nowhere. Anthony's passion is one the main driving forces behind, The Unknown. We don't know where this story will end, but with Anthony on our side, something good is bound to happen."
Written by Andrea Castro, Chelsea Marino & Christopher Tranchina